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Retail Sales Drag Dow Back Down Below 14,000

"We had another round of earnings that had mixed results, and
that's exactly what we got from the market as a whole," said
Schaeffer's Senior Equity Analyst Joe Bell of today's trading. But
he noted that, "the technology sector outperformed," as compared to
recent days. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
gave back most of the previous day's gains, closing back below
14,000.

Slower retail sales drag down the market, Time Warner (
TWX
) may be selling its Time Inc. publishing division, and how
option bulls are continuing to target social online gaming firm
Zynga (
ZNGA
).

A slower growth trend in retail sales got the
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
off to a slow start, and it never really recovered, as it dropped
back down below 14,000. The Dow finished at 13,982.91 after falling
nearly 36 points, or about 0.3%. General Electric (
GE
), which jumped 3.6% in reaction to the news it was selling its
remaining stake in NBCUniversal, led the 30-member Dow's 17
advancers. McDonald's Corporation (MCD) fell 1.2% to lead the 13
decliners.

The
S&P 500 Index (SPX)
pulled out a win on the day at the last minute, gaining nearly 1
point, or 0.1%, to close at 1,520.33 and pegged another new
multi-year high earlier this morning. The SPX has now solidly
established a foothold above 1,500, closing there for the last
seven consecutive sessions. The
Nasdaq Composite (COMP)
climbed 10 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 3,196.88.

The
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)
finished at 12.98, climbing 0.3 point or 2.7%.

A Trader's Take
:

"Retail sales met expectations and December business inventories
rose by 0.1% ... (but) most major indexes were slightly negative,"
Bell noted. "General Electric was a huge bright spot (following
news of its sale of 49% of NBCUniversal)."

3 Things to Know About Today's Market
:

Retail sales
rose
just 0.1% in January, the lowest such rise in the last three
months, as consumers dealt with a rise in the payroll tax.
(Los Angeles Times)

There is
a potential buyer
of the Time Inc. subsidiary of media giant Time Warner Inc. (
TWX
), according to sources.
(CNNMoney)

President Obama's proposal to
raise the federal minimum wage
to $9.00 an hour could have a lasting impact on the income gap
but also on businesses' bottom lines.
(The New York Times)

The $16.7 billion deal
between Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) and General Electric (
GE
) for the remaining 49% of NBCUniversal drew the bulls out in
droves for both companies.

Option traders also were
gambling on
more upside for casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS).

The disappointing earnings from Coca-Cola (KO) drew out bears
looking to
cash in
over the short term.

Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) saw an
uptick
in put trading, possibly on concerns of an anticipated pullback
from a recent rally.

For a look at today's options movers and commodities
activity, head to page 2.

Commodities
:

A new downward forecast for demand in 2013 sent oil futures
falling Wednesday, with crude for March delivery dropping 50 cents,
or 0.5%, to end the day at $97.01 per barrel.

A slow market caused by Chinese holidays and a major upcoming
international meeting saw April-dated gold shed $4.50, or 0.3%, to
finish at $1,645.10 per ounce -- its lowest daily close in nearly
six months.

At the end of every market day, the staff at Schaeffer's
Investment Research reviews the trading day in detail, covering
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